The Shortest Seven Years of Your Life

9 02 2012

I have this dream of having a blog that’s active and continuously helpful to my audience, who in my dream is a lot larger than a blog’s audience can realistically become without selling Google ads or something like that.  It’s a pretty great dream; I feel accomplished, others feel encouraged, and everybody is happy.  Sadly, I have failed to meet my goal of “write at least one blog per week” about eighty-seven times at this point, and I think a more realistic goal would be, “write at least one blog per year.”  That’s a good goal, because it’s accomplished by this very post.  Great job, Steve!  You’re doing it—you’re really doing it!

We all have lots to do, all the time.  Blogging just seems like work sometimes.  Other times, it seems like I can’t blog precisely because I have other work to do.  I’m convinced that we are born with the necessity to be busy, like a “to-do list” app that comes pre-installed on your phone and can’t be deleted.  Everyone is rushed and overwhelmed, and when they’re not, they’re thinking about the next time they will be.  Yet, some things seem easy, even when they require a lot of work.  Blogging is clearly not one of those things for me yet.  It takes a lot effort to become good at a sport or game, but people put in the time without a second thought because it’s fun.  They enjoy it.  There’s some sort of affection for it.

It’s really interesting to me how love can turn things around so drastically.  In Genesis 29, Jacob falls in love with Rachel, and agrees to work for her father for seven years in order to marry her.  Then the father cons Jacob into another seven years of work.  I’m sure that  Jacob had a lot of blog material that would not be encouraging, to say the least, after that (see verse 25)!  Yet he served willingly, and the reason was that he was in love with Rachel.

The story of Jacob and Rachel teaches us, thousands of years later, that love turns years into days and labor into joy.  That’s not to say that there won’t be times when we have to push ourselves, and when our work or service makes us tired.  If we all have a pre-installed “to-do list” app, we also have a battery that requires charging sometimes, regardless of how we feel about what we’re doing.  But there’s something about love that motivates us when all other means of motivation have failed.  Paul really was on to something when he said that love “always perseveres [and] never fails.“

“What if I hate what I do?”  No worries, surprisingly enough.  The great thing is that we don’t have to be in love with everything we do to have love motivate everything we do.  Paul exhorts us to “work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”  What that means is that you don’t have to force yourself to love your job.  You don’t have to pretend to love schoolwork.  You simply have to adjust your angle; change your context; modify your mindset.  If I can position my perspective correctly, I don’t have to love blogging—I just have to love Jesus, and let my motivation for Him power my work.

I realize that blogging isn’t the best example…but it’s the one I’m working with.  What is it for you?  If we can identify the things we don’t like doing, we can start to use our love for Jesus to power our labor for the world.  That’s a good goal, and it can be accomplished this very moment with a simple decision to bring what you do under the umbrella of who you love!

(Not convinced?  Check these out: 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 4:11-13—”for works of service”, Philippians 4:13)


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Categories : personal, revelation

Mission Shower

17 10 2011

“As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth… ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘and wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means ‘sent’).  So he left, washed, and came back seeing.”
-John 9:1, 7 HCSB

I wear contacts (or glasses when my contacts refuse to cooperate), but I’m not blind.  At least not physically.  I do sometimes feel blind, though.  I would venture a guess that one of the most common wishes people have is to know what’s coming.  In Christianity, that means what “now” is leading up to.  What’ve you got up your sleeve, God?  What’s on the horizon?  Why is this happening?  It can be from an optimistic perspective, or it can be from the depths of depression, but one thing is certain: we always want to know what’s next; how to get from “here” to “there.”

You might not even need glasses or contacts at all, but I’m certain that you’ve felt blind at times too.  When I read verses like Psalm 119:105—”Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path”—or Jeremiah 29:11—”I know the plans I have for you”—I am prone to frustration!  If God KNOWS, then why doesn’t he SHARE?  Why do I so often feel that I can’t see a thing in front of me?

I am finding out more and more that he does share.  Frequently.  The problem isn’t with him (it never is), it’s with me and my lousy perspective.  While he may not tell me the future, God is always more than willing to explain the purpose of the present through the Holy Spirit and his Word, and it’s in this passage from John 9 that helped me to start tuning in to the right spiritual frequencies.  This guy has been blind from birth, and Jesus puts some mud on his eyes and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam, which is the Hebrew word for “sent.”  As I read this a couple of weeks ago, I realized something: that’s how spiritual blindness is healed, too.  Healing of spiritual blindness is found in washing ourselves with being sent.  We begin to “see” as we cleanse ourselves with the mission Jesus saved us for.

All of a sudden, every problem made sense.  The people that were the most bothersome to me became my greatest opportunities to grow in love.  The people that weren’t living by God’s grace and guidance became my highest-priority mission field.  Think about it; let the Holy Spirit wash your eyes in your “sent-ness.”  There’s a purpose that Jesus saved us to; everything comes into focus when we look through the lens of our divine destiny.  We function most effectively and operate most clearly when we look to God’s desire for our lives.  And without God’s purpose at the front of our minds, we are blind to all the opportunity he lays before us.

The best part of this story?  He came back seeing.  That’s what I want!  I want to come back from being washed with restored vision.  I just have to take my “mission shower,” and start living with the revelation that I am an ambassador; a representative.  I am sent.  And that brings both the purpose of the present and the function of the future into perfect focus.


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Categories : discipleship, revelation, scripture

Manifesto

25 08 2010

I will not live by feelings; I will live by faith.

I will not live by what I see; I will live by what I know.

I will not live for safety; I will live for significance.

I will not live to be right; I will live to be light.

I will not live in fear; I will live in freedom.

I will not live for my legacy; I will live for His majesty.

I will not live by my goodness; I will live by His grace.

I will not live for my story; I will live for His glory.

May we answer the call of Jesus and become a people set apart for the glory of God.


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Categories : revelation, vision

Fighting Fire with Bigger and Better Fire

24 07 2010

“A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.”
–Proverbs 21:14

I find myself too frequently trying to disarm sin without arming myself with righteousness.  I don’t know where I get this idea from.  It’s certainly not promoted in the Bible, which tells us to be properly equipped.  And it’s certainly not in any movie or book I’ve seen…no one goes into battle without a plan.  But attempting to fight off temptation without drawing upon the Spirit of the Lord is just that.

Solomon doesn’t say “Let the anger cool, and swallow it.”  He doesn’t say “Hide your malicious thoughts and ignore your evil desires.”  He doesn’t say “Give into your anger, and your journey to the dark side will be complete.“  He says to counter anger with humble generosity.  Because the truth is, you can step out of darkness without stepping into the light.  You cannot live the life Jesus has called you into simply by avoiding hell—you have to enter into heaven, too.  Fighting off temptation without stepping into righteousness is the best way to stay lukewarm.  So don’t fight the enemy with your weapons…fight with God’s weapons.

Fight greed with generosity.  Give.
Fight selfishness with selflessness.  Serve.
Fight pride with humility.  Honor.
Fight despair with praise.  Thank.
Fight hard feelings with forgiveness.  Forgive.
Fight apathy with action.  Go.
Fight with love, not with morality.  Don’t just seek to neutralize…seek to vitalize.

A defense of obligation is just an offense of jealousy or guilt in disguise.  Christianity isn’t about avoiding Satan—it’s about encountering God!  We will gain ground and grow in strength when we begin to counter darkness, instead of merely blocking it.

And never give into the dark side.


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Categories : discipleship, revelation

Growing Up

19 03 2010

The Bible talks a lot about growing.  The church grew, the gospel grew, believers’ faith grew, and God made (and still makes!) things grow.  Even science tells us that healthy things grow.  One of the best questions you can ask yourself is, “Am I GROWING in the things that are most important to me?“

We have become arrogant the moment we stop seeking growth.  By ignoring growth and progress, we are essentially saying that we have reached the pinnacle and have no need for anything more (which was the claim of the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3, which God wanted to spit out of His mouth because of how “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked” they were).  If you are not progressing you are most likely regressing…there is no middle ground.

But we must also be on guard from putting too much emphasis on progress and not enough emphasis on purpose.  We have to know WHY we are growing before we can best answer HOW to grow in the greatest way.  And if we fail to remember the purpose of what we’re doing, no amount of progress will ever be satisfactory…because we are so focused on the mileage gauge that we miss the fuel gauge, and the pit crew waiting to fix things up, and we may even miss the finish line.  If you never ask yourself why you’re doing something, you’ll end up doing a lot of things for no reason at all.

We cannot allow our progress to overshadow our purpose.  Progress may be the gas pedal, but purpose is the gas, and if we never return to the “why” of something, the “how” becomes empty and irrelevant.


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Categories : discipleship, leadership, revelation

ONE Lesson #4: Raising the Bar

10 09 2009

With God behind us, we can do anything (Php 4:13).  But when our knowledge goes too far beyond our practice, our belief becomes a burden because we’re not giving God space to fulfill the promises of scripture in our lives.  It’s easy to acknowledge what God says to us and still live lives that never go beyond what we can do.  As Christians, we’ve got to keep each other accountable, and not just with struggles or responsibilities, but with our faith at its core as well.  If we want to step into God’s dreams for our lives, we have to challenge each other to live in ways that require both God’s sustenance and each other’s support (both are necessary…Lk 10:27).

While explaining how individual’s personal walks with God play a part in their unity as a team, the youth staff at NewSpring Church said that they hold people to a standard they can’t live up to without Jesus and each other.  Leaders especially need to have unity between each other that is so solid that every person’s quiet time is vital to the operation of the ministry.  Holding each other accountable in this way not only makes sure that what you’re doing is always based in, surrounded by, and covered with scripture…it also ensures that your personal time with God becomes not only for yourself, but for your teammates too!


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Categories : leadership, revelation

I’m an Opportunist

28 08 2009

First off, check out my friend Tim DeGroot’s new blog here. He has taught me so much and I am blessed to be able to serve with him in ministry, and I have no doubt that you will benefit from what he has to say.

Second:
I have prayed so much in my life for God to give me opportunities to serve Him, and to share the gospel, and to make a difference, etc.  I pray for God to give me opportunities a lot.  And while we do need God to provide us with opportunities (because otherwise none would come to us), we also need to remember that we cannot do anything with those opportunities unless God moves.

So I think that more often than asking God to give US opportunities, we need to do everything we can to give HIM opportunities.  Because if God doesn’t move, nothing significant will ever happen.  Ever.  And we need to continually give God room to move if we want what we’re doing to be significant.  Miracles do not happen if risk is not involved.  And while waiting for God’s direction is INCREDIBLY important, if we know what God’s heart is about something, we can’t wait for God to move before we do.  Sometimes we have to prove our faithfulness by giving the Spirit room to work, instead of making Him push you out of the way.

Note: We ALWAYS know what God’s heart is about the lost.  He wants us to be fishers of men, to go and make disciples of all nations, and to unapologetically preach the good news to all who listen.  We never have an excuse to avoid doing this!

We need to give God opportunities to move so that something eternal can happen, instead of asking Him to give us opportunities to do something that without Him is worthless anyway!


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Categories : revelation, vision

“You Chose Wisely…”

7 08 2009

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…”
Ephesians 1:11

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Colossians 3:12

“For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you…”
1 Thessalonians 1:4

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9

God does not simply ALLOW people into His kingdom.  There is no one who is part of the body of Christ who wasn’t expected, or who God had to make room for.  Each one of us is CHOSEN, and each one of us has a PURPOSE in the Kingdom.  God had (and always will have!) a REASON for choosing you.  And even if it feels like there is no visible or tangible evidence of God’s purpose or reason in choosing you, remember…sometimes the INvisible and the INtangible things are the most POWERFUL, and serve in the ways closest to the spiritual workings of the Holy Spirit.

Live your life with confidence that there is something God has chosen YOU, over everyone else in the world, to do, and that you are an important and vital part of the body of Christ, because…

God does not choose poorly!


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Categories : revelation, scripture

It’s the Simple Things

16 04 2009

Just as we can do “no great things, only small things with great love,” so is it also with evil. The temptation to murder is not what causes a man to murder, it is the temptation to annoyance, to a quick comment of disdain, to a thought of anger, that brings a man to kill. We do not enter into tyranny because of the tyrant, but because of the disrespectful child.

As the evil one has been defeated, he can no longer wage war upon us—but like a scattered force living in a jungle, small ambushes and guerilla tactics are continuously at hand for those of us walking through a world in which we know Heaven is above, but are only able to catch glimpses of it through the thick canopy. It is not great evil that we are afflicted with, but small evil: that which finds its way into the cracks of our character, growing hardly noticeable thread-like roots beneath a slab of concrete, and over years and years causing the sidewalk to split and crumble and be overrun with vegetation. Now it is hardly noticeable as a sidewalk. It appears to the passer-by that by some strange occurrence, chunks of cement have been left among a bed of weeds; it seems that it is the cement that is out of place.

Jesus speaks of a seed that is sown among different types of soil. There is perhaps another sower, another type of seed, that tries to take root in the soil yielding harvest. Trees do not come from above and mash themselves into the ground, they grow from small beginnings beneath the soil and become something huge and immovable. So it is with temptation: it is not the great and terrible things we see causing mass ruin that we should concern ourselves with, it is the small things. “Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick,” as C.S. Lewis explains in The Screwtape Letters.

Though some may say that we do not need to concern ourselves with the small things in our life, if only the big things seem aligned—how much it is the opposite! For we see small and big with the world’s eyes: our actions, possessions, and experiences. But the eyes of heaven see only one’s heart, one’s motive, one’s true thoughts and desires. How can a thirty-story building stand if the first floor’s beams are weak? In the same way, we must be on the watch for the beginnings of temptation, the smallest deterrence from the Way, if we want to avoid great calamity. As Shane Claiborne says, “the tempter’s best lie is 99% true,” and it is this that we must be most on guard for.


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Categories : revelation

Inside Out

19 02 2009

Perhaps Christians should be less concerned with living out their faith, and instead be more intent on living in their faith.  To live in faith—from within my faith—so that as I go I make disciples; not by worrying myself with how much I do, or how many things I am doing “right” versus how many things I am doing “wrong,” or how many results I see, but rather by being intimately connected to and in love with an impossible God.

Our commands from Jesus are to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Too often I attempt to love God by loving my neighbor, while Jesus explicitly states them as two separate things.  I can never try to find God first in people.  I can never be satisfied with God only when I am attempting to love my neighbor.  I cannot let myself mistake the feeling of loving someone else or seeing just one facet of God’s work for God’s true fullness and being.  I must first be satisfied with God alone, in silence and solitude, before I attempt to love my neighbor, for if I try to love my neighbor first not only will I fail but I will become addicted to God’s work rather than God Himself.

When I am fully satisfied with my Father—with only His being, and my being near His—then I will inevitably love my neighbor as well.  A love for God creates a love for others.  And when I love others, I will fall more in love with Jesus.  It is a never-ending cycle that feeds itself.  But I won’t ever be able to love my neighbor more by attempting to create love for them myself.  I can never cultivate love by action.  Unless I love with the Holy Spirit’s love that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 13, I will certainly fail.  I will never learn to love others more unless I first find the Holy Spirit within myself, and am satisfied with God’s presence alone.  I must live in my faith if I want to see my faith grow out.


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Categories : revelation

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